Economic Downturn Affecting UK Law Firms

Although not a staggering number by any stretch of the imagination, the 668 total redundancies (layoffs for this side of the pond) among U.K. law firms, documented by the TheLawyer.com on their new Job Watch page, is surely a sign of worrying times ahead. Click here to access the page. It is a sad state of affairs that such a reputable forum as TheLawyer.com deems it necessary to create a webpage aimed at:

“providing up-to-the-minute news of redundancies and breakdowns by location and skill set."

I have written numerous times about the necessity for law firms to re-evaluate their traditional operating model, if they wish to survive and thrive in today’s global economy. This was never truer than now given the harsh economic realities we are currently experiencing. While over the medium to long-term I anticipate that the restructuring we are now witnessing will induce a growth spurt in the demand for LPO, at this moment in time I urge my colleagues within the industry to maintain a degree of decorum when discussing the issue.